James Van Der Beek To Play A Gynecologist In CBS Comedy Friends With Better Lives

A week after we learned that Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 star Krysten Ritter has been cast in an NBC pilot, following the unfortunate cancellation of her ABC comedy, comes word that James van der Beek has also found another project. The actor, who played himself in Don't Trust the B, will take one of the leads in a CBS comedy pilot called Friends with Better Lives.

With How I Met Your Mother on its way out next season, CBS may be in the market for a friends-focused comedy about thirty-somethings. Friends with Better Lives sounds like it takes the grass-is-always-greener approach with its concept, focusing on a group of thirty-something friends who each think the other has a better life. EW says van der Beek will play Will stokes, a gynecologist and one of two doctors featured in the series. He's described as smart and sarcastic, and he just got cheated on by his soon-to-be ex-wife, so he's trying to get over that on top of everything else.

Van der Beek made the transition to comedy with Don't Trust the B, though many will always associate him for his starring role in 90s teen drama Dawson's Creek. While Don't Trust the B might not have been a ratings winner, the show was funny and van der Beek certainly demonstrated his sense of humor in the series. So it's great news to hear that he's sticking with comedy. Of course, this new project has a fair amount of competition. CBS has a number of comedy projects in the works and a lot of talent behind them. But with van der Beek attached to this one, it does give the comedy a bit of star power, which could help its chances when it comes time for CBS to make decisions for its 2013-2014 line-up.